27 July 2007

checkit, we made the paper! we're all still in a bit of shock over it but there we are, plain as day. when ward slapped the tuesday edition down in front of me a week and a half ago, I felt my eyes widen and my mouth drop open. well lookie there, I said. there we are on the front page of the newspaper. how about that?

when the folks from the oregonian contacted me a couple of months ago about photobooth friday, I didn't really think much of it. I mean, yes-- I was excited and all but I wasn't sure how much material they'd be able to pull together for a story. and then, you know, sometimes things just don't pan out. so I was a little surprised when steve (sweetest guy ever) actually contacted me to set up the interview.

we met down at a coffee shop next to the ace hotel, ordered italian sodas and talked for two hours about many, many things. photobooths and blogging (naturally) but also how wonderfully strange portland is, the local modern dance scene and our oddly mutual midwestern roots. as we were leaving the hotel, he asked if I was planning on taking a photobooth strip. yes, I said. I think I probably have to now, right? he smiled and I left the interview with this strip.

then I sort of forgot about the whole thing. I think maybe I was still wondering if it would ever actually come to fruition. the photographer and I couldn't seem to coordinate a time for the shoot and anyway, what? a photo shoot? the thought of it absolutely terrified me. I'm extremely uncomfortable when others photograph me. there are but a few exceptions to this personal rule, though not many (an entirely different subject for another time, one that is as wide as it is deep and then some).

we finally did meet for the photo shoot-- again, down at the ace hotel (I'm like a one-trick pony with all this ace hotel business) but only out of sheer necessity and just a few days before the story was to be printed. bruce was just as sweet and easy going as steve but when I arrived, he was holding a giant-sized camera. so sweet and heavy, I could almost feel the weight of it in my hands. I didn't know whether to make for the front door or grab his beautiful camera and run. I decided to introduce myself instead. even though all I wanted to do was ask him if I could touch his camera. actually, I wanted to hold that big thing and look through the lens but there was no time for anything but a polite introduction and an abbreviated photo shoot. ah, the photo shoot. oh people. I am so awkward with this sort of thing, so awkward. naturally, he wanted to take a photo of me inside the photobooth-- in action and with the curtain wide open. I felt myself smile like an idiot and say yes, of course! though it came out sounding excruciatingly chirpy. I was too nice to tell him no. see, that's the thing about photobooths, it's very private. you get behind the curtain and it's just you and that camera. there's no photographer on the other end and I love that. of course I love that, but what could I do? what did I expect from a photoshoot about a story involving photobooths? I mean, really.

so there I was in that booth, all sweaty and uncomfortable. my smile just a little too bright, my cheeks a tad too shiny. bruce slid the curtain to the side and I swear I could feel the entire lobby watch me as I slipped my three crinkly dollars into the slot. they would all be privy to my silly little photobooth session and of course, there would be bruce, pointing that big fancy lens at me. then the pop and flash of the photobooth kicked in and I don't know what happened. I sort of flaked out. I did things I wouldn't normally do. all the time I was thinking, OMG THIS IS GOING TO BE IN THE NEWSPAPER WHAT AM I DOING. afterwards, when the booth finally spit the strip out, all I saw was cartoon-like cleavage and what looked to be the arms of a giant sailor. clearly, those enormous arms did not belong to me. well yes, they did but denial is a wonderful thing. and then the photo shoot was over and that was that. all I could do now was hope for the best. I was sure I'd made a total fool of myself but maybe they wouldn't show that part? perhaps I was creating unnecessary drama?

turns out I worried for nothing. I'm a worrier, this is what I do, I can't help it. thankfully, there was nothing too incriminating (thank you, bruce) and such a nice write-up (thank you, steve). plus, all over the front page of the living section! what a kick. who'd a thunk photobooth friday had legs like this? I'm both pleased and embarrassed by the attention, if that makes any sense at all. maybe because I think people are probably thinking it's enough already with the photobooth, WE GET IT, YOU LIKE PHOTOBOOTHS. I know, I know. but it's a ritual now, to write the stories down (almost) every friday. it's a creative exercise I'll be slow to part with, even if I stop blogging altogether. who knows why I feel the way I do about photobooths. steve asked me what the big appeal was and I was less than eloquent in my attempt to explain it. I said something about nostalgia, something about aesthetics... blah blah blah. I don't know, I finally said. I don't know. I've just always had a thing for photobooths. he nodded and scribbled something down in his notebook.

so there you have it. my kooky little addiction forever immortalized in the living section of the oregonian paper. you can read the article online here (though there are no photos online and the article sort of doesn't work without the photos). thanks to all who called or emailed to congratulate me, extra thanks to all who have made photobooth friday the sweet little phenomenon that it is. if you'd like a copy of the article, gimme a holler. I'll see what I can do.

23 July 2007

2. wondering why stores feel the need to put out school supplies like summer is over already and school starts tomorrow or something. so totally wrong.

3. cleaning the house like the pope's coming for tea. he's not, but you never know. really, I've been prepping for houseguests and they're here now, hopefully enjoying the fruits of my obsessive, frenzied labor.

4. gleefully consuming bags of cherries and many quarts of fresh blueberries from the neighborhood farmers market.

5. watching top chef and wishing I could cook something other than whole wheat spaghetti with marinara sauce.

13. marveling over the fact that I CAN NOW SEW. my skill is limited, but still. I took a class last month and learned how to make an a-line skirt. I can't believe I made a skirt! have now cut the fabric out for about seven different skirts, all ready to be sewn. happy to say, a sewing machine will soon be in my possession.

14. listening for the tinkly music of the ice cream truck, hoping for the ice cream man to come through our neighborhood.

15. lamenting over the end of the summer postcard swap (though I am still receiving the occasional postcard). a wrap-up is in the works.

16. cleaning out the garage and unpacking so many forgotten boxes. finally, I have summer clothes and sandals to wear. finally, I found the curtains. and my big box of old letters to hang on the wall and the rest of our music collection and the ice cream sprinkler and the beach towels. the list goes on and on and on.

17. in a mild state of (pleasant) shock over the recent feature on photobooth friday in the oregonian newspaper. I do so solemnly swear to share it here this friday.

18. cursing my ice cube trays. why is it so hard to get the cubes out of the trays? I'm serious. I think I'm missing something. some special trick or something. it's really become quite the problem and I am a girl who needs a good supply of ice on hand.

19. wondering if there's any way I can make it to brooklyn in august for my brother von's first art opening.

21. hanging out in the backyard after dark and loving it. me and ward, we wander out there once the kids have gone to bed and sit out under the wisteria and string lights and we eat popsicles and talk about things. am currently obsessed with wyler's italian ice pops, which look like flav-o-ice pops but are slightly more sophisticated. why? because they are delightfully slushy and come in flavors like raspberry, lemon, kiwi-watermelon and orange creme. I discovered them at k-mart a while back while stocking up on martha stewart glassware and can no longer find them ANYWHERE. officially disappointed.

22. thoroughly enjoying keri smith's guerilla art kit. which is not supposed to be out until november but for some unknown reason, can be found at urban outfitters. sorry, keri-- I know I should've resisted the purchase (on principle) but I could not.

23. on the hunt for the best bubble recipe ever and the perfect white cotton nightgown.

24. wishing for a hammock.

25. dreaming of the ocean.

26. enjoying a new haircut (abby, I absolutely love the place you recommended and am totally going back).

27. relishing the time with my family, especially my brother nate. wondering how we're going to say goodbye when they leave here today. I don't think I'll be able to stand it.

28. wishing the summer would slow down already and not fly by at such a frightening speed.

13 July 2007

friday is orange is juicy is friday. I mean, friday is juicy like the color orange is juicy-- alive and expectant, all set to pop. at least, that's how I feel about friday. and anytime the color orange is involved.

me and orange, we go way back. I think I was something like six when I decided I liked the color orange. we were cruising through town in our enormous brown stationwagon. the carpenters were playing on the radio (naturally) and the windows were rolled down. I was doing something with my hands and the wind (funny, the little things you remember). and I was thinking about oranges, about how pleasing the shape of an orange was, how sweet they tasted and how convenient it was that they could be pulled apart into neat little sections. I was also attracted to the cold, pitted texture of the skin and the way the scent stained my fingers for hours afterwards. I like the color orange, I thought to myself. orange is officially my favorite color. and I was relieved that this matter was finally resolved because adults were all the time asking me for my favorite color and what was that all about anyway? well, now I had my color and my reasons and I could answer without hesitation and with genuine conviction.

a year or so later, I got into it with my grandma because she tried to tell me that my favorite doll's hair color was actually red, not orange. red!? that's crazy talk, grandma. you've gone kooky in the head. it's orange. ORANGE. I'm looking at the doll's head and I see orange. are you blind? round and round and round we went like that. technically, that doll's hair was orange but I didn't know that people with orange hair were called redheads. it made absolutely no sense to my 7 year-old way of thinking and I refused to accept it as truth. I felt compelled to protect my color of choice. plus, I didn't really want to be wrong about this. shortly after, I started calling people with red hair 'orangeheads', desperately hoping it would catch on. it did not.

anyway. me and orange, we're tight.

p.s. no photobooth friday today. just the orange. I think next week is going to be a big week for photobooth friday. details on that later.

06 July 2007

the little camera inside the photobooth? it loves my mother, adores her. everysinglephotoboothframe I have of her is luminous. this is what I love most about photobooths: they capture people in a way no other camera can.

here, I am loving: the side-turned pose and that lovely brown shoulder, the crisp white blouse (which I like to think is tied at the waist), the terrifically short (albeit slightly crooked) bangs and holy smokes, that smile-- impossibly fresh-faced and full of promise, mi madre. other words that come to mind: giggly. sparkly.

05 July 2007

color color color, lots of it and in a million different shades. sure, I have my favorites but at the end of the day, I heart them all.

I'm thinking it might be time to do the color week thing again. I'm aching for another round and this falls right into place with the shinyhappysummerprojectme. I am currently reveling in shinyhappysummerprojectme. wondering if anyone out there would like to play along? if so, please do feel free to join in. starting next week:

03 July 2007

the postcards are finally (FINALLY) finished and I am currently busy writing messages on the flip sides. each person shall receive a lovely cryptic summer poem which, if properly decoded, will reveal the secret to life.

um, just kidding. but wouldn't that be nice?

though it's a great relief to finally be writing messages and addresses-- a stage in the process I thought I'd NEVER reach. I so totally underestimated how long it would take me to make 77 postcards. if there was a cape of shame for this sort of thing, I would be wearing it. live and learn, I say. live and learn.

in the meantime, I've been receiving postcards most everyday and The Wall of Summer is growing exponentially. happy blocks of color have taken up residence on the green wall in the kitchen. it's like my very own private miniature art installation and I do so solemnly swear to share more photographs of the happy wall. until then, this lil peek will have to suffice. you can make it, can't you? it's a lovely, lovely sight. it will be worth the wait, I promise.